The NHS in Scotland had its own strong and distinctive roots well before 1948 with the Highlands and Islands Medical Service (HIMS) which was set up in 1913. Read about the how the NHS in Scotland came into being, along with many of the pioneering firsts including the first practical ultrasound scanners in Glasgow, the UK’s first successful kidney transplant in Edinburgh and the development of the Glasgow Coma Scale.

Our interactive timeline has been created to showcase some of the fantastic accomplishments, milestones, innovations and breakthroughs that have been made in the NHS in Scotland over the last 70 years.